It’s no secret that the New York Islanders need to clear some cap space this offseason and one way to do that would be trying to move out some of their bad contracts.
There are four key bad contracts that the Islanders could look to shed, but it would mean attaching assets along with them to get any of them off the books. Below are four players on bad contracts that the Islanders could look to move in the offseason to clear cap space.
ANDREW LADD
We know Andrew Ladd’s contract is obviously the biggest burden, with a cap hit of $5.5 million for the next two years. It also isn’t helped by the fact that Ladd has played a total of four games for the Islanders over the last two seasons and Ladd does still have a 15-team no trade list attached to the deal (though it's unlikely the clause would be an issue in any potential deal).
While the contract probably isn’t going anywhere, there's a higher chance of it being moved with just two years remaining than there would’ve been a couple years ago. The issue is what it could cost to move the contract, which would be a first-round pick at the absolute minimum. While cap space is important for the Islanders, so are top draft picks, which give the team some flexibility to make moves. As a result, it’s still unlikely we’d see Ladd’s contract moved in the offseason.
CAL CLUTTERBUCK
The next highest cap hit on one of the bad contracts would be Cal Clutterbuck’s $3.5 million AAV, which runs for one more season. The difference with Clutterbuck is that he’s still a consistent member of the lineup and is valued as a member of the team’s fourth line. That said, he’s turning 34 years old in November and doesn’t bring enough value to justify his contract.
The fact that Clutterbuck still holds a spot in the lineup of a contending team could open the door to a potential trade, as he certainly has more value than the likes of Andrew Ladd. However, the Islanders would still have to attach an asset to get the contract moved and given that he’s still valued by the team and has been with the Islanders for close to a decade, management would probably try to move someone else before seeking out a deal involving Clutterbuck.
LEO KOMAROV
It was reported the Islanders were looking to move Komarov last offseason to clear cap space and it’s likely that we see management loop back to this idea again. Komarov, now 34 years old, is a depth option with limited offensive capabilities and isn’t worth his $3 million AAV, which has another year left on it.
Like Clutterbuck, Komarov is at least still usually drawing into the lineup and even spent time playing with Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle after Anders Lee’s injury. That said, Komarov doesn’t necessarily have a set spot in the lineup and it’s likely the Islanders look to get his contract off the books this summer. I’d expect it would probably take something in the range of a third-round pick in order to move Komarov but it's also important to note that he does have a seven-team no trade list.
THOMAS HICKEY
Despite only playing five games for the Islanders over the last two seasons, defenseman Thomas Hickey’s contract carries a $2.5 million cap hit for one more season. While it can be buried for quite a bit of cap relief, the Islanders would probably still like to get rid of the nearly $1.4 million of his deal still being counted against the cap.
New York could opt to buy out the final year of Hickey’s deal, but it would result in less than $600,000 in cap relief for next season compared to just burying his contract, and would add over $800,000 to be counted against the cap for the 2022-23 season as a penalty. For this reason, the Islanders would be better off trying to move the deal, as it would likely only cost them a mid-round pick in return.
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Who do you think is most likely to be traded along with assets for cap relief this offseason?
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